


The Burden

by cecelej



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keith's memories, M/M, One sided, PINING KEITH, Season 2 spoilers, fixing something rl quick, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 01:33:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9411506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecelej/pseuds/cecelej
Summary: In which, Keith thinks his love is childish and shouldn't be brought up.I know some sheith shippers are a little worried about what Keith said in that one episode (You know what I'm talking about, BRO) so I thought I'd throw in my two cents about it.Spoilers. So don't read without watching the season. (They're kind of mild spoilers but still!)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hope this clears things up.   
> Sheith is still alive and well lol

Keith knew he had so much more to think about. There were too many things going on, battles, revelations, new allies. But when he lay in the healing pod, he could think of only one thing. 

"Shiro, you're like a brother to me," it echoed in his head like a repeating record, all scratched and hallow. It was true, but it tasted so sour on his tongue because it hasn't always been that way. 

Of course, they hadn't always known each other and they weren’t raised like brothers. They hadn’t even had a good starting off point. Keith had pushed and resisted all of Shiro's efforts. He refused to believe he was anything but an assignment to the stuffed shirt that was Shiro. Shiro had been sent to set him straight, always perfect, always in uniform, always graceful. But they fell into a rhythm. 

Shiro had been like Keith before his time in the Galaxy Garrison. Not as sharp or as rough as Keith, but lost in a way that young people can tend to get themselves when left alone. And in their shared experiences, they grew to be brothers. They trained and argued and spent every day with each other. 

And then the butterflies came. They sat heavy and dark as bats in Keith's stomach. Something sinister, even though it didn't try to be that way.   
And he pushed them. Back into their caves, each chasm of his heart filled to the brim with the dark beating of rubber wings. 

And Shiro noticed the bat wings or, at least, he noticed Keith pulling away. He asked and prodded for Keith to open up, but Keith refused to lose Shiro over a silly crush. With time, it would pass and, with age, Keith would stop being silly with schoolgirl fantasies. 

But as Kerberos approached, Keith grew more desperate to be close to Shiro. He yearned for his touch. He melted in the glow of Shiro’s attention. Every hand on the shoulder, every sidelong look, made Keith feel safe and warm like he never had before. 

When it was time for Shiro to leave, Keith's heart felt like an ever expanded balloon, painful in his chest, getting bigger and bigger and threatening to burst and fill him with shards of glass, and sand, and lemon juice. 

"Shiro," he'd rasped, out of breath from running clear across the Garrison to reach Shiro's room in time. 

"Keith? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the ceremony?" Shiro had asked. He peaked his head out of the room, looking for higher ups that would bust Keith, but the hallways were empty. 

Keith shook his head, taking hard breaths. 

"Had to see you," he managed. "Had to tell you," he paused, taking in big gulps of air, trying to catch his breath. He was thankful the red exertion on his face was covering up the nervous blush. 

"Tell me what?" Shiro asked, worried over Keith's sudden arrival. 

Keith pushed up onto his toes, grabbing at Shiro's uniform and pulling his lips to his own. It was rough, his teeth pinching Shiro's lips and pressing harder than necessary, but Shiro didn't seem to mind. 

Shiro’s hands held hard around Keith's waist and Keith pushed his tongue into Shiro’s mouth. They could both taste the onion rings that the cafeteria had served for lunch, but neither of them minded. 

Then Shiro pulled away, his hands leading Keith’s hips away, guiding him back off of his tiptoes. They were both breathing hard. Shiro wiped his mouth on his sleeve. 

"Keith, I'm glad you told me.” 

And at those words, Keith felt his world shattering, glass serrated his insides and lemon juice filled each cut. Shiro’s words sounded so much like soft rejection. His balloon had burst. Each kind word had sounded like a death sentence. Every ounce of gravity pressed Keith into oblivion,

Until Shiro leaned in again. 

His kiss was soft, more experienced, more eloquent. His lips were soft on Keith’s. They were sweet, and calm, and patient. Shiro’s kiss said just what he'd wanted it to. Where Keith's kiss had said 

'savage,'   
‘lost,'   
‘please,’

Shiro’s kiss had said 

'I'm coming back.’  
‘I'm coming back.’  
‘I'm coming back.’  
‘For you.’  
‘For you.’   
‘For you.' 

And Shiro left. Just like that. And Keith had felt so relieved. Each bat turning into a blessing as his chest opened up with happiness. 

And then Shiro was dead. Gone. Cold. And Keith was lost. His bats were back but they no longer beat their wings his body. They just stifled his senses. They clogged up every cave and cavern in his chest. He felt gone. Cold. He fought like a rabid winged beast but he never again thought he would feel anything. 

But he did feel again. And Shiro did come back, just as he had promised. 

Keith's bats began to beat their wings like wild things when the shock of it wore off. But he couldn't bring himself to kiss Shiro. He couldn’t catch Shiro’s eye and lean up and whisper how much he missed him. 

He couldn't even bring himself to ask Shiro if he'd remembered their kiss, their promise. 

He didn't think it was his place. If Shiro had forgotten, it wasn't his right to burden the man. Because that's what he was now, a man. No longer was he a golden cadet with a future as bright as the sun. He was war hardened. His future held an eminent, glory-fueled death.

Shiro didn’t have time to think of love in a time like this. He wasn’t a school-boy anymore. He wasn’t assisting scientists in a harmless experiment. He was risking his life. He was leading a team. And Keith wouldn't dare ruin his focus. Keith respected Shiro too much to bring up a piece of the past that was so far gone. It was too far gone, too almost, too over. 

So Keith stayed silent. Always silent. 

Even when he was bloodied and beaten, even when he was ripping apart at the seams over sharing blood with the enemies, he still stopped himself from looking up at Shiro and confessing his love all over again.

‘Brother,’ he'd said instead, 

because it was as close as he could get,

without burdening the man.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, please let me know if there are typos/errors. 
> 
> Especially on this one because I wrote it rl quickly. lol


End file.
